In a bid to support young people by boosting youth entrepreneurship and inspiring talented youth, Nestlé Nigeria joined the rest of the world to celebrate the 2017 edition of the International Youth Day event.

Held at its head office and Agbara factory in Lagos, the event, which focused on boosting employment among youths, also featured an interactive session facilitated by four young Nigerian entrepreneurs, who have made impact in their respective industries. They includes The CEO of CDAtelier Tosin Oshinowo, the architect, who designed Maryland Mall; Chiamaka Obuekwe, CEO of Social Prefect Tours, one of Africa’s Top 100 Women in Tourism; founder and CEO Nation Career Fair Oluwaseun Shogbam and Elijah Eniola, Digital Marketing Executive and Social Entrepreneur.

During the session, the panelists shared their success story and how they are contributing positively to the society, as well as encouraged participants to take action.

Speaking at the event, The Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé Nigeria, Mr. Mauricio Alarcon assured that the company would continue to provide training and job opportunities to ensure the youths gain skills that will enable them make positive contributions towards building peace in the society.

He stated that the company’s empowerment initiatives include the training programme at the Technical Training Centre located in the Agbara factory complex to develop and train young technicians for the world of work, and the street-vending programme, My Own Business (MYOWBU), to provide them with the skills and expertise they need to run their own micro-enterprises.

Alarcon therefore encouraged the youth to maximize the use of technology and get creative to harness the vast potential in themselves to create value for society.

The National coordinator of African Youth Initiative for Crime Prevention, Mr. Chris Ibeh, also urged the youth to aspire to take up leadership positions and also urged them to shun tribalism, offensive religious sentiments, corruption, greed and all other acts that could breach societal peace.

The mentorship segment on career building and development was well received by the youth, who expressed their satisfaction with the depth of information shared. The session included practical demonstrations on how to kick-start and develop a successful career, how to create adequate visibility for oneself using online networking sites and a curriculum vitae clinic to expose the interns to the expectations of employers.